Haute Couture Patternmaking

In addition to my draping classes, I was taking patternmaking. Our teacher was a friendly Breton man named Dominique Pellen. He was younger than my draping teacher, and was therefore less traditional in his manner of teaching. He quickly realized that my language capabilities were holding me back and would patiently re-explain things when I had a confused or panicked look in my eyes.

We started with the basics. First we learned about the standard measurements (bust, waist, hips, shoulder length, etc). The first pattern we drafted was a short sleeve, and then we worked on variations, like making it a balloon shape. This was accomplished by drawing lines on the original pattern, cutting on those lines, and then fanning the resulting segments out which would create volume when the pattern was sewn.

Next we worked on the "jupe de base" or basic skirt, along with variations. We also did different long sleeves, then a "chemisier" (shirt), and jacket (probably the toughest pattern) before returning to do bonus sleeves -- the raglan and kimono sleeves. We also learned a little about grading, which was probably the trickiest concept. Grading is when you expand (or shrink) the pattern for different sizes. What makes it tricky is that it's not like enlarging or shrinking something on a copy machine; you have to be aware of how the body changes with a change in size, so sometimes in addition to changing the width you also have to shift angles.

I had never taken a patternmaking course before, but from what M. Pellen explained, it sounded like in haute couture patternmaking, you take more measurements than in ready-to-wear, so the patterns are more precise (again, there is an importance placed on fit). When the patternmaking is done right, things should fit like a glove and follow the contours of the body.

At the end of each course, there is a final exam. I think the highest score you could get is a 20, which would be like if you were working in an haute couture atelier. I was proud of myself because while I was nowhere near a 20, I got the highest score in the class -- this despite not always understanding what M. Pellen was saying and having less experience than most of my classmates. After a few months of patternmaking classes, I felt like I could eventually develop patterns for most garments.